EMAIL DETAILS

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Friday, March 1, 2019 8:00 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday,
March 1, 2019


*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=000-e56&t=c>
mobile-optimized online version, including download options and an audio
reader.*


[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=001-7c8&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Friday, March 1, 2019 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• Biden Addresses US Global Leadership In Omaha Address. <#S1>

• Poll Shows Trump In Virtual Tie In Texas With Biden, O’Rourke, And
Sanders. <#S2>

• New Hampshire Poll Shows Sanders Leading With Biden In Close Second. <#S3>

• Inslee Names More Hires As He Prepares To Announce Whether He Will Run.
<#S4>

• Bullock Hires Aide To Organize Efforts In Iowa. <#S5>

• Booker, Other Democratic Presidential Candidates Introduce Bill To
Legalize Marijuana. <#S6>

• Twitter Suspends More Accounts Claiming To Be Howard Schultz Fan Accounts.
<#S7>

• Perez Fails To Announce Choice For 2020 National Convention. <#S8>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• Media Analyses: Trump, Kim Remain Open To More Talks After Collapse Of
Hanoi Summit. <#S9>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• Al Shabaab Bombing Kills At Least 10 At Mogadishu Hotel. <#S10>

• Pompeo Urges India, Pakistan To Ease Tensions. <#S11>

• Trump Claims 100% Of ISIS Land Liberated In Syria. <#S12>

• Pompeo: US Working On Plans To Deliver Humanitarian Aid To Venezuela.
<#S13>

• Sources: US Preparing Final China Trade Deal To Be Signed In Mid-March.
<#S14>

• Under Pentagon Plan, US Military Would Exit Afghanistan Within Five Years.
<#S15>

• Israeli AG Recommends Corruption Charges Against Netanyahu. <#S16>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• Cohen Testifies Behind Closed Doors Before House Intelligence Committee.
<#S17>

• NYTimes Report: Trump “Ordered” Kelly To Grant Kushner Security Clearance
Despite CIA’s Concerns. <#S18>

• Trump: Republicans Who Oppose Border Declaration Put Themselves In “Great
Jeopardy.” <#S19>

• Trump: Justice Department Needs To Be “Cleaned Out.” <#S20>

• Mnuchin Says Tax Rebates Were Up 17% Week Over Week. <#S21>

• House Passes Gun Background Check Review Period. <#S22>

• Senate Confirms Wheeler In 52-47 Vote. <#S23>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• President Trump’s $500M Childhood Cancer Initiative To Focus On Data
Sharing. <#S24>

• FDA Issues Warning About Robotic Surgery For Cancer-Related Procedures.
<#S25>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S26>

• Washington Post. <#S27>
Biden in the News
Biden Addresses US Global Leadership In Omaha Address.

The Omaha (NE) World-Herald
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=002-672&t=c>
(2/28, Ruggles) reports on Thursday, former vice president Joe Biden spoke
at the “inaugural Hagel Forum in Global Leadership” held at the University
of Nebraska at Omaha. He “scorned the notion that the United States should
retrench and tell its allies to be more self-reliant.” He said, “It’s in
our naked self-interest to stay engaged,” and added, “It would be complete
folly to think that we could go it alone.” The World-Herald adds, “Biden
received two standing ovations.”

The Lincoln (NE) Journal Star
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=003-55c&t=c>
(2/28, Walton) reports, “Biden called Thursday for a return to U.S.
engagement and leadership in the world.” The Journal Star says the event
“came two days after he appeared to inch close to a decision to seek the
2020 Democratic presidential nomination.”

WOWT-TV[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=004-2e8&t=c>
Omaha, NE (2/28, 5:15 p.m. CST) reported, “UNO welcomed a pretty big figure
to campus today. Just minutes ago, former vice president Joe Biden finished
speaking.” WOWT-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=005-8a5&t=c>
Omaha, NE (2/28, Mastre) also posted the story on its website.

KETV-TV[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=006-91a&t=c>
Omaha, NE (2/28, 5:03 p.m. CST) reported, “Biden is at UNO, and he’s making
it clear Washington needs new leadership.” KETV (Barth) added, “The focus
today was America’s role in global leadership,” and “Biden talked about the
US relationship with foreign countries, particularly the European Union.
Biden called out President Trump’s leadership, saying the failure of the
president is generating doubt about America’s standing power and even our
closest allies no longer trust our commitment.”

CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=007-f44&t=c>
(2/28) reports that “Biden’s response when a ringing cellphone interrupted
his speech at the University of Nebraska-Omaha caused the audience to burst
into laughter.” He said, “That’s President Trump calling. Tell him I’m
busy, but I’m happy to help.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=008-66b&t=c>
(2/28, Frazin) reports Biden “offered some rare praise” for President Trump
regarding his “summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.” Biden said,
“The president did the right thing by walking away.” He added, “But
diplomacy matters; preparation matters.” He also said that he hopes Trump
“learned a very important lesson.”

*Biden Retracts Calling Pence A “Decent Guy.” *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=009-46c&t=c>
(2/28, Cohn) reports on Thursday, former vice president Joe Biden, speaking
at a Forum in Global Leadership at the University of Nebraska-Omaha,
referred to Vice President Pence as a “decent guy.” Biden was criticized on
social media, and in response, he tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=00a-565&t=c>,
“There is nothing decent about being anti-LGBTQ rights, and that includes
the vice president.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=00b-274&t=c>
(2/28, Beaumont) reports that Biden’s “tendency to talk about his good
relationships with Republicans landed him in trouble Thursday when he
called his successor, Mike Pence, a ‘decent guy,’” and “was quickly
criticized by fellow Democrats, including actress and activist Cynthia
Nixon, who tweeted that Biden had complimented ‘America’s most anti-LGBT
elected leader,’ forcing Biden to walk back his comment.”

CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=00c-f20&t=c>
(2/28, Saenz) reports Biden’s calling Pence a “decent guy” had “frustrated
some on the left because of Pence’s position on LGBTQ rights.” Biden had
also called Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a “good guy.”

The Advocate
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=00d-ee9&t=c>
(2/28, Ring) calls Biden “the popular, LGBTQ-friendly former vice
president” and says he is “getting some heat for calling the current vice
president, well-known homophobe Mike Pence, ‘a decent guy.’”

The Blaze
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=00e-211&t=c>
(2/28, Colen) describes the incident as “the most recent example of the
death of civility in politics.”

Bustle
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=00f-a21&t=c>
(2/28, Burke) reports, “Biden called Mike Pence a ‘decent guy,’ and it
didn’t take long for the backlash to kick in.”

The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=010-8c8&t=c>
(2/28, Hasson) reports Biden “described current Vice President Mike Pence
as ‘a decent guy,’ but then quickly backtracked following criticism from
actress Cynthia Nixon.”

*Sources: Biden Campaign Ready To Go. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=011-d4a&t=c>
(2/28, Parnes) reports in an “exclusive” on Joe Biden’s
“campaign-in-waiting” prepared by “longtime advisers Steve Ricchetti and
Mike Donilon” so that as “one source” said, “Whenever the VP makes a
decision, we’ll be ready to go.” The Hill adds that Greg Schultz “is
expected to be campaign manager,” while Donilon “is expected to” be chief
strategist, and Ricchetti would “help oversee much of the campaign” as a
chief of staff. Kate Bedingfield is “expected to run his communications
shop,” and Tony Blinken would “take on a senior role” along with “old
policy hands in Bidenworld including Sarah Bianchi and Stef Feldman.”

*Reuters Analysis: Biden 2020 Run Is Not A Sure Thing. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=012-637&t=c>
(2/28, Gibson, Oliphant) notes that earlier this week, former Vice
President Biden said he “was ‘very close’ to deciding whether to make a
2020 White House bid and will run only if he thinks he can win the
Democratic Party’s nomination.” According to Reuters, Biden “will be more
likely to remain on the sidelines if he feels a strong candidate capable of
beating Trump is emerging.” Reuters also reports that “some party activists
say...that Biden has not reached out to broad donor networks to gauge the
level of monetary support he could expect.” The AP says progressives such
as Adam Green, of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has
endorsed Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), “lumps Biden in with white, male,
moderate Democrats who have faltered in recent elections.”

*Marshall Urges Biden To Run. *Leslie Marshall writes at Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=013-add&t=c>
(2/27, Marshall) to urge former vice president Joe Biden to run for
president, saying, “sir, the clock is ticking.” Marshall adds, “the number
one issue for most of us is making Donald Trump a one-term president. And
many, like myself, believe you’re the guy to make that happen.” Marshall
highlight’s Biden’s “experience” and “appeal” to “working-class white
voters.” Marshall also praises Biden for being “liked and respected by many
Republicans across the aisle.” Marshall concludes, “It’s time to throw your
hat in the ring and run for president.”
Poll Shows Trump In Virtual Tie In Texas With Biden, O’Rourke, And Sanders.

The Houston Chronicle
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=014-87b&t=c>
(2/28, Wallace) reports a Quinnipiac University poll shows “Texas would be
closer to a toss-up” in 2020 “if either Joe Biden or Beto O’Rourke were the
Democratic nominee.” In hypothetical matchups, Trump led “O’Rourke by a
single percentage point, 47 to 46,” and also led Biden 47 to 46 percent,
while leading Bernie Sanders 47 percent to 45 percent. The poll of 1,222
Texas voters was conducted February 20-25. The Dallas Morning News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=015-ca4&t=c>
(2/28, Gillman) says the poll shows “Trump faces trouble in Texas.”
New Hampshire Poll Shows Sanders Leading With Biden In Close Second.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=016-c5b&t=c>
(2/28, Morin) reports the University of New Hampshire’s Granite State Poll
shows Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) “is the leading choice among Democratic
primary voters in New Hampshire,” with 26 percent of those polled
supporting him, while 22 percent favored former Vice President Joe Biden,
10 percent Sen. Kamala Harris (CA), 7 percent Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA),
and 14 percent undecided. Among Republicans, 68 percent favored President
Trump, while 17 percent said former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and 3 percent
former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld. The poll of 604 New Hampshire adults
was conducted February 18 to 26.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=017-4de&t=c>
(2/28, Burke) reports “Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Cory Booker
(D-N.J.), who have announced their bids, are backed by 4 and 3 percent of
voters, respectively.”
Inslee Names More Hires As He Prepares To Announce Whether He Will Run.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=018-aae&t=c>
(2/28, Strauss) reports Gov. Jay Inslee (D-WA) has hired several political
professionals who had “worked for Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer,”
including Sky Gallegos, who previous to working for Steyer served on the
presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Edwards, and John
Kerry; former Oregon state legislator Ben Unger; John Brougher, who has
worked for Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and NARAL Pro-Choice America; and
Jared Leopold, formerly communications director for the Democratic
Governors Association. The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=019-e03&t=c>
(2/28, Burke) reports Gallegos and Unger both worked for Steyer’s NextGen
America

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=01a-68a&t=c>
(2/28, Connelly) in a profile, refers to Inslee as “the high school jock
who wants to be president.” The Post-Intelligencer adds, “He is poised to
declare Friday whether he is running” for president.

The New Yorker
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=01b-22f&t=c>
(2/28, Wallace) reports that during an interview, “Inslee would not
formally acknowledge his candidacy but kept hinting at it heavily —
mentioning, for example, that he might be in Iowa soon and raising his
eyebrows meaningfully.”
Bullock Hires Aide To Organize Efforts In Iowa.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=01c-216&t=c>
(2/28) reports Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) “has hired a staffer to
organize his efforts” in Iowa, as he plans “a sixth trip to” the state.
Bullock “doesn’t plan to make an announcement before Montana’s legislative
session ends in late April or early May.”
Booker, Other Democratic Presidential Candidates Introduce Bill To Legalize
Marijuana.

CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=01d-1cb&t=c>
(2/28, Chappell) reports on Thursday, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced
the Marijuana Justice Act, which would “legalize marijuana nationwide.” The
bills cosponsors include Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders
(I-VT), Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=01e-3c4&t=c>
(2/28, Weigel) reports Booker was “joined by four fellow candidates for the
presidency,” in “reintroducing legislation that would legalize marijuana
and expunge convictions for possessing the drug.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=01f-caa&t=c>
(2/28, Daugherty) reports Booker “has made criminal justice reform and
social justice issues central to his campaign and is framing the marijuana
legalization bill as such.”
Twitter Suspends More Accounts Claiming To Be Howard Schultz Fan Accounts.

CNET News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=020-d9e&t=c>
(2/28, Ng) reports, “Since late January, Twitter has suspended at least
three Howard Schultz fan accounts for violating its policies.” And
yesterday, it “suspended three more.” CNET adds, “All three accounts posted
alt-right content before they were suspended.” One of the accounts was
“created by Jacob Wohl, a conservative activist who bragged to USA Today
about his plans to create fraudulent Twitter profiles.”
Perez Fails To Announce Choice For 2020 National Convention.

The Miami Herald
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=021-8af&t=c>
(2/28, Smiley) reports that though he had set a deadline for the “end of
February” for an announcement of the city to host the Democratic National
Committee’s 2020 presidential convention, DNC Chairman Tom Perez “once
again left Miami, Houston and Milwaukee waiting.”
Leading the News
Media Analyses: Trump, Kim Remain Open To More Talks After Collapse Of
Hanoi Summit.

After President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un cut short their
two-day summit in Hanoi, contradictory accounts emerged Thursday over why
they were unable to reach an agreement. Both leaders, however, suggested
later that they were open to continuing talks.

In an interview with Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=022-8d7&t=c>
(2/28) recorded in Hanoi, President Trump said, “We are working towards
something, but we did not sign anything today. It didn’t quite work out. I
would say that I wasn’t satisfied and perhaps he wasn’t satisfied. Good
relationship, but I decided this wasn’t the right time to sign something.
We will see what happens over a period of time.” Asked where the sticking
point was, Trump said, “They wanted to denuke certain areas and I wanted
everything. The sanctions are there and I didn’t want to give up the
sanctions unless we had a real program. They are not ready for that and I
understand that fully. ... I wanted them to denuke and they would not do
the full. They wanted to do some. I guess a lot of people would have said
that’s a great start. But, I just didn’t feel it was right.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=023-d15&t=c>
(2/28, Wong) reports Trump told reporters at a news conference earlier
Thursday in Hanoi that “Kim had offered to dismantle the North’s most
important nuclear facility if the United States lifted the harsh sanctions
imposed on his nation – but would not commit to do the same for other
elements of its weapons program. That, Mr. Trump said, was a dealbreaker.”
The Times, however, reports that before ending the news conference, Trump
“tried to put a good face on the outcome,” saying, “This wasn’t a walkaway
like you get up and walk out. No, this was very friendly. We shook hands.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=024-433&t=c>
(2/28, Mason, Smith) reports Trump also insisted that the two sides “made
good progress in building relations and on the key issue of
denuclearization, but it was important not to rush into a bad deal.” Said
the President, “Sometimes you have to walk, and this was just one of those
times,” adding “it was a friendly walk.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=025-286&t=c>
(2/28, Lemire, Riechmann, Klug) reports Trump also “said there had been a
proposed agreement that was ‘ready to be signed,” but added, “I’d much
rather do it right than do it fast. We’re in position to do something very
special.” Trump, the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=026-0d5&t=c>
(2/28, Boyer) reports, “said...he wants to lift sanctions off North Korea
‘so badly,’ but cannot take that step until Mr. Kim agrees to fully
dismantle his weapons program.”

According to Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=027-b35&t=c>
(2/28, Talev, Lee, Lee, Sink), Trump also told reporters that the US
“presented Kim with evidence of additional secret nuclear sites, surprising
the North Koreans.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=028-aef&t=c>
(2/28, Taylor) says Trump “revealed that US intelligence has a far more
meticulous and detailed understanding of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and
ballistic missile operations than has previously been revealed.”

To the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=029-ebf&t=c>
(2/28, Kim), “Trump said the relationship remained positive and called the
talks productive, leaving open the possibility of future talks without
committing to a third summit.” On its editorial page, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=02a-909&t=c>
(2/28) says “it was a good sign that the president discussed the outcome in
calm and measured tones,” and the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=02b-880&t=c>
(2/28) argues on its editorial page that Trump deserves credit for walking
away from the talks.

David Ignatius writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=02c-5de&t=c>
(2/28) column “with the abrupt breakdown of the Hanoi summit, the
diplomatic negotiations...got a reset, and that’s a good thing. If dialogue
resumes, it will be on a firmer, more realistic basis.” Fareed Zakaria
sounds similarly upbeat in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=02d-7de&t=c>
(2/28) column, writing, “It appears President Trump decided that a bad deal
with North Korea was worse than no deal, a reasonable conclusion that
suggests he and his team were approaching this important issue with the
seriousness it deserves.”

Josh Rogin, however, writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=02e-927&t=c>
(2/28) column that “Trump may see a personal political benefit to dragging
out his love affair with Kim and dragging the world along with them on this
Sisyphean effort. But the stink of this summit’s failure and the danger of
the North Korean threat are only increasing over time. No deal is better
than a bad deal – but Trump getting played by Kim again and again is even
worse.”

Speaking to reporters while traveling to the Philippines on
Thursday, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=02f-4da&t=c>
(2/28, Brunnstrom, Heavey) reports Secretary of State Pompeo said the US
and North Korea “could hold further meetings...but there was no plan to do
so immediately.” Said Pompeo, “We haven’t set a date. My sense is it will
take a little while. We’ll each need to regroup a little bit. But I’m very
hopeful that Special Representative [Stephen] Biegun and that team will get
together before too long. But we’ll see...there has to be a reason for the
conversations.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=030-6fe&t=c>
(2/28) reports Pompeo “said progress was made between Trump and Kim at
their talks in Hanoi but not enough to warrant signing any kind of
agreement.” According to USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=031-ccc&t=c>
(2/28, Fritze), Pompeo said he wished Trump and the negotiators “could have
gotten a little bit further” with Kim. Said Pompeo, “We asked him to do
more. He was unprepared to do that.”

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said on CNBC’s Squawk On The Street[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=032-9b7&t=c>
(2/28), “Talks are very important. You can’t reach agreements without talks
and the President says sometimes have you to walk away for an agreement,
take a step backwards to go forward. I think the real answer here is the
sanctions are working, and North Korea wanted release of the sanctions, and
we’ve said we’re not releasing those sanctions until they deliver on the
commitment.”

Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=033-22e&t=c>
(2/28, Lee, Lee, Uyen) reports that for his part, Kim on Friday “vowed to
meet again with...Trump to continue nuclear negotiations.” To Bloomberg,
North Korea’s state-run news agency KCNA “presented a more optimistic
outlook than the regime’s top diplomats gave in a rare news conference
hours earlier.” Kim expressed appreciation for Trump’s “active efforts
toward results” and called the summit talks “productive.”

Media reports, however, said the two nations offered contrasting
explanations for why the Hanoi talks collapsed. In its lead story, ABC
World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=034-00a&t=c>
(2/28, lead story, 2:35, Muir) said that “just hours after the two leaders
sat down, the high stakes summit took a dark turn,” and NBC Nightly News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=035-b80&t=c>
(2/28, story 2, 1:50, Holt) reported “the diplomatic courtship between
President Trump and Kim Jong-un hit the rocks in dramatic fashion.” Trump
was shown saying, “It was a very productive two days, but sometimes you
have to walk. And this was just one of those times.” According to NBC, “The
dramatic collapse in the talks” came after the President says Kim “asked
for too much, saying the North Korean dictator was willing to dismantle the
North’s largest nuclear complex, but not to take any further steps until
the US removed all the painful economic sanctions.”

Margaret Brennan reported in the lead story for the CBS
Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=036-de4&t=c>
(2/28, lead story, 2:30, Glor) that “in a rare press conference hours
later, North Korea’s foreign minister, Ri Yong-ho, disputed that account,
saying his country had only sought partial sanctions relief. He insisted it
was North Korea’s most realistic offer and would not change.”

According to the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=037-1b2&t=c>
(2/28, Rucker, Nakamura, Denyer), the talks “collapsed unexpectedly amid a
disagreement about the trade-off between sanctions relief and
denuclearization steps, leaving questions about the next possible moves for
each side to keep alive the diplomatic outreach.” While Trump later told
reporters “the main impediment to a deal was Kim’s requirement that the
United States lift all economic sanctions on North Korea in exchange for
the closure of only one nuclear facility,” North Korean Foreign Minister Ri
Yong Ho “offered a different take.” Speaking to reporters in a “rare news
conference,” Ri said Kim sought only an end to “sanctions that hamper the
civilian economy, and the livelihood of all people in particular.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=038-b6c&t=c>
(2/28) likewise says “North Korea is disputing...Trump’s account of why the
summit...collapsed.” Ri said “the North demanded only partial sanctions
relief in exchange for shuttering its main nuclear complex, and that the
discussions collapsed after the US demanded further disarmament steps.” The
AP says Ri’s comments “contradicted the explanation by Trump, who hours
earlier told reporters that the North had demanded a full removal of
sanctions in exchange for shuttering the Yongbyon nuclear facility.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=039-193&t=c>
(2/28, Salama, Cheng) reports the two nations blamed each other on Thursday
for their failure to reach an agreement. The Journal quotes Ri as saying
through an interpreter, “We offered a realistic proposal in this meeting.”
He said Pyongyang had offered to “permanently and completely dismantle all
the nuclear material production facilities in the Yongbyon area, including
plutonium and uranium in the presence of US experts” if the US would lift
sanctions targeting civilians.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=03a-aad&t=c>
(2/28, Park, Pearson) too reports Ri said “North Korea made a realistic
proposal...but Washington insisted Pyongyang take one more step beyond
dismantling its Yongbyon nuclear complex.” According to USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=03b-4e4&t=c>
(2/28, Shesgreen, Fritze), Ri “also suggested it would be difficult to
restart the negotiations,” saying, “Our proposal will never be changed,
even though the United States proposes negotiation again in the future.”
The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=03c-21a&t=c>
(2/28, Meier), among other outlets, also reports Ri’s comments.

A Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=03d-6ea&t=c>
(2/28, Smith) analysis says the “failure” of the two leaders “to secure
even a limited deal...means any breakthrough now depends on working-level
talks that have made little progress since last year.” The “sudden collapse
of talks on Thursday,” experts said, “highlighted just how large the gulf
between the two countries remains,” and “also underscored that whatever
chemistry Trump and Kim might have, it was not enough to overcome
differences.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=03e-d2e&t=c>
(2/28, Johnson) says that “for Trump, it was more than an isolated
diplomatic strikeout. It was the latest demoralizing episode in a
monthslong losing streak that threatens his presidency.”

Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=03f-49f&t=c>
(2/28, Wadhams, Talev) says Trump “flew halfway around the world for his
hastily arranged second summit” with Kim, “betting that his personal
diplomacy could overcome sticking points both sides have known about for
years. Now he’s coming home empty-handed.” To Bloomberg, the talks’
collapse “exposed just how far apart the adversaries are, even after two
face-to-face meetings.”

In a piece titled “A Self-Proclaimed Dealmaker, Trump Left Summit
Empty-Handed,” the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=040-0a8&t=c>
(2/28, Rucker) says Trump “flew for 20 hours” to Hanoi “to earn a place in
history as the American statesman whose personal charm overcame decades of
intransigence and erased the North Korean nuclear threat. But the
self-proclaimed master dealmaker left Hanoi on Thursday empty-handed and
humbled by his inability to coax an erratic and reclusive dictator into
giving up his arsenal.”

Along similar lines, David Sanger writes in an analysis for the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=041-8ba&t=c>
(2/28) that “three American presidents have tried cajoling, threatening and
sabotaging North Korea’s efforts to build a nuclear arsenal.” President
Trump was “the fourth to test that proposition, but with a twist: Engaging
in the sort of direct negotiation that his predecessors shunned...betting
that his self-described skills as a master negotiator would make all the
difference. As it turned out, it didn’t.” The talks’ collapse, Sanger
writes, “underscored the risk of leader-to-leader diplomacy: When it fails,
there are few places to go, no higher-up to step in and cut a compromise
that saves the deal.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=042-4d4&t=c>
(2/28, Gordon) runs a similar report under the headline “Trump’s Approach
To Diplomacy Hits A Snag In North Korean Summit.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=043-671&t=c>
(2/28) editorializes that the summit “revealed the fundamental weakness of
Mr. Trump’s strategy” of using his “personal and improvisational
diplomacy.” The Post argues that “if the administration had pursued a more
substantive approach to the negotiations, Mr. Kim would have known the
position he brought to Hanoi was a non-starter.”

To The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=044-612&t=c>
(2/28, Fabian), Trump “suffered a significant blow,” the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=045-4fa&t=c>
(2/28, Enjeti) refers to a “disappointing conclusion to what Trump hoped
would be a signature achievement,” and Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=046-5ed&t=c>
(2/28, Lawler) says Trump is returning to Washington “empty-handed.”

In its analysis of the summit, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=047-642&t=c>
(2/28, Schreck, Talmadge) says that despite the lack of an agreement, “Kim
won’t be going home empty-handed. Kim may have overplayed his hand on
sanctions, but he demonstrated he is capable of playing hardball – a
capability Trump won’t likely forget.” The AP says Kim also “walks away
with arguably more legitimacy than he had before, having convinced the most
powerful man in the world to come to Asia a second time in less than nine
months.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=048-c74&t=c>
(2/28) editorializes that while “doing it right is certainly better than
doing it fast” and “no deal is certainly better than a bad deal,” Kim “did
not come away from Hanoi empty-handed. Every time he meets with Trump, it
raises the despot’s stature on the world stage and lends legitimacy to his
cruel leadership.”

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Bob Dees, who commanded US forces along the
Demilitarized Zone in South Korea, writes in USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=049-b01&t=c>
(2/28) that President Trump’s “peace through strength” approach has
“achieved more tangible results in the past two years than all the other
efforts combined.”

*Trump Receives Bipartisan Praise For Walking Out Of Summit. *
Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=04a-fed&t=c>
(2/28, Litvan, Flatley, Edgerton) reports President Trump received
“bipartisan praise from members of Congress for walking out of his summit”
with Kim “after the two couldn’t reach a deal.” Senate Minority Leader
Schumer said on the Senate floor, “President Trump did the right thing by
walking away and not cutting a poor deal for the sake of a photo op.” House
Speaker Pelosi likewise told reporters, “It’s good that the President did
not give him anything for the little he was proposing.” Senate Majority
Leader McConnell, meanwhile, said it was “smart” for Trump to meet Kim in
Singapore and Vietnam to “expose the North Korean delegation to the kind of
economic prosperity that could be possible if he were to choose a new
path.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=04b-9ba&t=c>
(2/28, Dinan) says Trump’s decision “won exceptional praise” from Schumer,
who said the President “deserves credit for being willing to forgo a weak
agreement.” John Roberts similarly said in the lead story for Fox News
Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=04c-39b&t=c>
(2/28) that Trump’s decision won him praise from Democratic leadership.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=04d-3da&t=c>
(2/28, Shesgreen) likewise says “lawmakers in both parties praised Trump’s
decision.” Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), the top Democrat on the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, “gave Trump ‘credit’ for not accepting a weak
agreement.” In an interview with CNN, Menendez said, “It’s better not to go
ahead and enter into a bad deal, but you don’t put yourself in this
position in the first place.”

*Trump Accepts Kim’s “Word” He Had No Role In Warmbier’s Death. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=04e-eff&t=c>
(2/28, Lucey, Sewell) reports President Trump said Thursday he takes Kim
“at his word” that Kim was unaware of the alleged mistreatment of an
American college student who died in 2017 after being imprisoned there.
Trump said Kim “tells me he didn’t know about it, and I will take him at
his word.” Trump’s comments “drew a rebuke” from Pelosi, who said, “There
is something wrong with Putin, Kim Jong-un – in my view, thugs – that the
President chooses to believe.” Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) “also spoke out,”
saying in a statement, “We must remember Otto, and we should never let
North Korea off the hook for what they did to him.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=04f-2cf&t=c>
(2/28, Hauser) says Trump’s comments “prompted anger from Democrats and
cautiously critical responses from several Republicans.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=050-4db&t=c>
(2/28, Wagner, Kim) likewise reports Trump received “cautious pushback”
from fellow Republicans for his remarks about Warmbier. Republican
lawmakers, however, “were careful not to criticize Trump directly, but
several said they took a different view of whether Kim was trustworthy.”
Speaking to reporters, House Minority Leader McCarthy said, “I do not see
the leader of North Korea as somebody who’s a friend. We know what happened
to Otto. We know what this country has done.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
said he didn’t “buy it for a minute” that Kim had nothing to do with
Warmbier’s treatment.

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=051-1af&t=c>
(2/28, story 2, 2:05, Glor) said Trump is “facing new criticism over
comments he made regarding Otto Warmbier,” and Hallie Jackson reported on NBC
Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=052-b30&t=c>
(2/28, story 3, 1:55, Holt) that Trump’s remarks triggered “bipartisan
backlash.” Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO): “The blood of Otto Warmbier is on the
hands of Kim Jong-un.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=053-548&t=c>
(2/28, Fritze) reports Trump “was asked by a reporter about the discussions
he had with the North Korean leader on Warmbier’s death.” The President
responded, “I don’t believe he knew about it. He tells me that he didn’t
know about it and I will take him at his word.” Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=054-813&t=c>
(2/28, Hunter) reports Trump said Kim “felt bad” about the episode, and
added: “I don’t believe that he would have allowed that to happen. It just
wasn’t to his advantage to allow that to happen.” To ABC World News
Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=055-195&t=c>
(2/28, story 2, 0:45, Muir), Trump “seemed to absolve Kim of any blame” for
Warmbier’s death.

Jim Acosta reported on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=056-c9f&t=c>
(2/28) that Trump’s remarks about Warmbier are “another example of the
President siding with dictators and autocrats.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=057-21e&t=c>
(2/28, Dawsey) too says Trump’s “defense of Kim mirrors his willingness to
take the word of autocrats in other cases despite the findings of his own
government or experts, particularly when confronting the leader is not what
Trump sees as in his political interest.” The Post notes Trump disagreement
with “his intelligence community’s assessment that Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman...ordered the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” and
his “sid[ing] with Russian President Vladimir Putin over his denial that
Moscow interfered in the 2016 presidential election.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=058-aca&t=c>
(2/28, Borchardt, Balmert) reports former UN Ambassador Bill Richardson,
who tried for over a year to negotiate Warmbier’s release, said Thursday on
MSNBC, “It is inconceivable that such a high profile American prisoner like
Otto Warmbier, that Kim Jong-un would not know.” Richardson added that it
was “dispiriting” and “disappointing” that Trump would side with Kim over
American intelligence.

*Trump Discusses Summit With Moon, Abe. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=059-724&t=c>
(2/28, Howell) reports President Trump “made in-flight calls to Asian
leaders Thursday to loop them in on his talks” with Kim. Trump called South
Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during
a flight from Vietnam, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told
reporters on Air Force One.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=05a-1a9&t=c>
(2/28, Choe) reports that “few people in the world were more surprised and
disappointed by the breakdown of the summit” than Moon. According to the
Times, Moon “had been so confident of a breakthrough in the meeting in
Hanoi...that he planned to deliver a major speech on Friday laying out his
bold vision for economic cooperation with North Korea.”

*Trump Honors Bronze Star Recipient During Refueling Stop. *The Daily
Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=05b-29f&t=c>
(2/28, Kruta) reports that en route back to Washington on Thursday,
President Trump “took a moment to honor a real hero during a pit stop at
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson” in Alaska. After “speaking briefly about
planned advancements for the military, Trump turned his attention to Sgt.
Sean Rogers, who was recently awarded a Bronze Star.”
Foreign Policy
Al Shabaab Bombing Kills At Least 10 At Mogadishu Hotel.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=05c-7d7&t=c>
(2/28, Sheikh, Omar) reports briefly that a suicide car bombing targeting a
Mogadishu hotel by Al Shabaab on Thursday “killed at least 10 people and
destroyed buildings in the Somali capital’s busiest street, police said.”
Al Shabaab later claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pompeo Urges India, Pakistan To Ease Tensions.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=05d-bf0&t=c>
(2/28, Heavey, Brunnstrom) reports Secretary of State Pompeo said Thursday
that he has spoken with the leaders of India and Pakistan amid rising
tensions between the two countries and has urged them to avoid “any action
that would escalate and greatly increase risk.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=05e-91a&t=c>
(2/28, Slater) reports Pompeo told reporters traveling with him from
Vietnam to the Philippines that he had spent “a good deal of time” engaging
with the leaders of both countries over the phone Wednesday night.
Pakistan, meanwhile, said it will release an Indian fighter pilot it
captured Wednesday, “easing the immediate risk of further conflict” between
the two nuclear-armed rivals. Calling it a “peace gesture,” Pakistani Prime
Minister Imran Khan told Parliament Thursday that the pilot would be
released Friday. The Post says the announcement “lowered tensions” and
“allayed fears that India and Pakistan could be sliding toward war.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=05f-404&t=c>
(2/28, Masood, Gettleman, Abi-Habib) reports Indian officials “did not
immediately respond” to Khan’s announcement, but “the gesture appeared to
be a face-saving opening for both countries to head off a plunge into war.”
The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=060-191&t=c>
(2/28, Mughal, Hussain) likewise the move “could help defuse the most
serious confrontation in two decades between the nuclear-armed neighbors.”
Trump Claims 100% Of ISIS Land Liberated In Syria.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=061-469&t=c>
(2/28, Burns) reports President Donald Trump asserted Thursday that ISIS
“has lost 100 percent of the territory it once controlled in Syria, but US
officials in Washington and accounts from people in Syria said a sliver of
land remains contested.” Speaking to troops in Alaska during a refueling
stop on his way home from Vietnam, Trump said, “Now it’s 100 percent we
just took over, 100 percent. The area, the land, we just have 100 percent.
We did that in a much shorter period of time than it was supposed to be.”
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=062-7d8&t=c>
(2/28, Mason) says Trump’s remarks contradict those made earlier on
Thursday by the commander of Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Kobani, who
said his forces would be able to announce “the complete victory over [ISIS]
in a week.”

Along similar lines, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=063-d22&t=c>
(2/28, Loveluck) says Trump’s “surprise announcement...came as news to
US-backed forces leading the fight on the ground, spokesmen said.” SDF
spokesman Adnan Afrin said the “final decision” is yet to be made, while
Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights,
said, “It’s not true, it’s not true, it’s not true.”

*High-Profile French ISIS Militant Killed In Syria. *The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=064-309&t=c>
(2/28, Peltier) reports that “high-profile French jihadist and Islamic
State propagandist” Fabien Clain, “who is believed to have recorded the
Islamic State’s claim of responsibility for the November 2015 attacks in
Paris, was killed by an airstrike in southeastern Syria,” the US-led
coalition said Thursday. On Twitter, the coalition said, “A Coalition
strike killed an active Daesh media official named Abu Anas al Faransi,
also known as Fabien Clain, in Baghouz.” The Times says it was “unclear
when Mr. Clain was killed, but he and his brother, Jean-Michel, were
believed to have been targeted by an airstrike on Feb. 20.”
Pompeo: US Working On Plans To Deliver Humanitarian Aid To Venezuela.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=065-2b6&t=c>
(2/28, Brunnstrom) reports Secretary of State Pompeo said Thursday the
Administration is still working on plans to get humanitarian aid delivered
to Venezuela after troops loyal to Nicolas Maduro blocked foreign aid
convoys last weekend. Speaking to reporters while flying to the Philippines
from Vietnam, Pompeo said, “We are hopeful that over the next couple of
weeks, we can really begin to make a dent in that problem. It is a big
problem.”

*Paraguay Says Guaidó To Visit Friday. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=066-ec7&t=c>
(2/28, Bronstein) reports briefly that Paraguay President Mario Abdo
tweeted Thursday that interim Venezuelan President Juan Guaidó will visit
the country on Friday, “as Guaido tries to drum up support in the region
and put pressure on Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro to step down.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=067-203&t=c>
(2/28, Sheridan), meanwhile, reports that Guaidó visited Brazil on Thursday
“as he prepared for one of the most momentous decisions of his career – how
to return to his country without being arrested and risking the collapse of
his campaign to oust the government.” Guaidó traveled to Colombia last
Friday, “defying a court order prohibiting him from leaving the country.”
Maduro has “suggested that Guaidó will be arrested if he returns to
Venezuela,” but Guaidó “said this week that he is determined to reenter
Venezuela, although he hasn’t said when or how.”
Sources: US Preparing Final China Trade Deal To Be Signed In Mid-March.

Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=068-6df&t=c>
(2/28, Leonard, Mayeda, Mohsin) reports that “US officials are preparing a
final trade deal” that President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping
“could sign in weeks, people familiar with the matter said.” The sources
also said the US is “eyeing a summit between the two presidents as soon as
mid-March.” The planning, however, “has been complicated by Xi’s need to
lead China’s annual National People’s Congress in early March.” A White
House spokesman “didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=069-374&t=c>
(2/28, Heavey, Alper, Brice), meanwhile, reports Trump on Thursday “warned
he could walk away from a trade deal with China if it were not good
enough.” Speaking to reporters in Hanoi, Trump said, “I am always prepared
to walk. I’m never afraid to walk from a deal. And I would do that with
China, too, if it didn’t work out.”

*Mnuchin, Kudlow Suggest China Set To Agree To Structural Changes. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=06a-5b9&t=c>
(2/28, Lawder, Ahmann) reports Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said Thursday
that the Administration is “working to hammer out a detailed trade
agreement with China that will include specific structural commitments.”
Mnuchin said the US and China “have made a lot of progress in recent talks
and hope to make more progress in the weeks ahead.”

CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=06b-508&t=c>
(2/28, Rooney) quotes Mnuchin as saying, “The deal is not done yet but we
have made a lot of progress. ... We still have more work to do, and we hope
to make progress this month.” Mnuchin said he and USTR Lighthizer are
working on “detailed agreement” for “significant commitments” from Beijing.
Mnuchin said, “There have to be real structural changes.”

Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=06c-b91&t=c>
(2/28, Mayeda) reports NEC Director Kudlow said the US and China are “on
the cusp of an ‘historic’ agreement that would commit Beijing to cut
subsidies for state-owned companies and disclose when its central bank
intervenes in currency markets.” Said Kudlow, “The progress has been
terrific. ... I think we’re headed toward a remarkable historic deal.”
According to Bloomberg, Kudlow said Chinese officials “have pledged to
‘significantly’ reduce subsidies to state-owned firms as part of a
potential deal, as well as to disclose when the nation’s central bank buys
and sells foreign currency.”

*Kudlow: Lighthizer “Worked Miracles.” *CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=06d-429&t=c>
(2/28) reports on its website that in an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk On The
Street[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=06e-e16&t=c>
(2/28) Thursday morning, Kudlow said the US and China made “‘fantastic’
progress in meetings last week” on a potential trade deal. Kudlow credited
Lighthizer, saying, “Lighthizer has worked miracles on this Chinese deal.”

*WTO Rules In US Favor Against Chinese Farm Subsidies. *Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=06f-791&t=c>
(2/28, Baschuk) reports President Trump “scored a key trade victory against
China when the World Trade Organization ruled that Beijing provided farm
subsidies in excess of its international trade commitments.” Bloomberg says
the “landmark ruling on Thursday could force Beijing to roll back its
agricultural outlays – something that could help make America’s farmers
more competitive as they struggle with the fallout of Trump’s trade war
with China.” In a statement, the USTR’s office said, “This panel report is
a significant victory for US agriculture that will help American farmers
compete on a more level playing field.”
Under Pentagon Plan, US Military Would Exit Afghanistan Within Five Years.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=070-293&t=c>
(2/28, Gibbons-Neff, Barnes) reports that under “a new Pentagon plan being
offered in peace negotiations,” all US troops would withdraw from
Afghanistan “over the next three to five years.” The rest of the
international force in Afghanistan “would leave at the same time.” Citing
“various elements of the plan” shared “by more than a half dozen current
and former American and European officials,” the Times says the plan “calls
for cutting by half, in coming months, the 14,000 American troops currently
in Afghanistan. It would task the 8,600 European and Australian troops with
training the Afghan military...and largely shift American operations to
counterterrorism strikes.” According to the Times, the plan is “being
discussed with European allies and was devised, in part, to appeal to
President Trump, who has long expressed skepticism of enduring American
roles in wars overseas.”

*Khalilzad: Talks With Taliban To Resume Saturday In Qatar. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=071-7dd&t=c>
(2/28, Abuelgasim) reports US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said Thursday
that talks with the Taliban have been put on hold until this weekend.
Khalilzad tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=072-008&t=c>
that “both sides will take the next two days for internal deliberations,
with plans to regroup on Saturday.” He added
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=073-06b&t=c>:
“We continue to take slow, steady steps toward understanding and eventually
#peace.”

*Hundreds Of Afghan Women Protest Talks With Taliban. *In what the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=074-bb8&t=c>
(2/28, Faizi, Zucchino) calls “a rare sight,” more than 700 women from
across Afghanistan gathered in Kabul “to send an unequivocal message to the
men now negotiating with the Taliban. We want peace, the women said, but
not at the cost of our rights.” The Times says the conference, which was
“six months in the making, represented a watershed moment at a time when
Afghans are struggling to comprehend what peace with the Taliban would
bring.”
Israeli AG Recommends Corruption Charges Against Netanyahu.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=075-7e6&t=c>
(2/28, Heller) reports Israel’s attorney general on Thursday “recommended
indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with bribery and breach of
trust in a series of corruption cases, a momentous move that shook up
Israel’s election campaign and could spell the end of the prime minister’s
illustrious political career.” The AP notes that a final decision on
indictment “will only take place after a hearing, where Netanyahu is given
the opportunity to defend himself.” The process “is expected to take many
months and be completed long after the April 9 elections,” but the AP says
the announcement “immediately cast a cloud over the campaign and
Netanyahu’s future.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=076-c8b&t=c>
(2/28, Halbfinger, Kershner) reports the announcement by Attorney General
Avichai Mandelblit “was the culmination of a two-year investigation into
Mr. Netanyahu’s dealings with wealthy businessmen, including a Hollywood
movie producer, Israeli newspaper publishers and the head of the country’s
largest telecommunications conglomerate.” The Times says Netanyahu “was
already facing a surprisingly stiff challenge from a popular former army
chief heading into the April 9 election,” and Thursday’s move “is likely to
further buffet his re-election campaign.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=077-f11&t=c>
(2/28, Heller) reports that in a prime-time address to the nation,
Netanyahu “dismissed the three criminal cases as a political ‘witch-hunt’
designed to oust him,” and the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=078-c1a&t=c>
(2/28, Schwartz) quotes him as saying the cases are “a house of cards that
will crumble. …I am 4,000 percent certain of this.”

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=079-2b6&t=c>
(2/28, story 5, 1:10, Glor) said Netanyahu is “calling the timing of this
announcement undemocratic as voters will hear the charges before the
election, but not the conclusion.” Richard Engel reported on NBC Nightly
News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=07a-ba5&t=c>
(2/28, story 6, 1:15, Holt) that Netanyahu “appeared to choke up, defending
himself against charges he says were cooked up by his enemies.” Netanyahu
said, “They’re spilling my wife’s blood, they’re persecuting my sons, they
brought my family through the seven circles of hell.” Meanwhile, President
Trump defended Netanyahu, saying, “I can say this, that he’s done a great
job as Prime Minister. He’s tough, he’s smart, he’s strong.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=07b-eec&t=c>
(2/28, Eglash, Morris) reports that ahead of Mandelblit’s announcement,
“Netanyahu’s lawyers released a statement on Wednesday calling the charges
of bribery ‘ridiculous.’” The Post says Netanyahu has “framed the
allegations as a part of a left-wing conspiracy to unseat him, because his
opponents can’t win at the ballot box.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=07c-350&t=c>
(2/28, Stanglin) and the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=07d-34d&t=c>
(2/28, Tarnopolsky), among other outlets, have similar reports.

*UN Report: Israeli Forces May Have Committed War Crimes In Gaza. *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=07e-e6a&t=c>
(2/28, Eglash) says a report published Thursday by the UN found that
“Israeli security forces may have committed war crimes and should be held
individually and collectively accountable for the deaths of 189 Palestinian
protesters in Gaza last year.” The UN Commission of Inquiry also
“criticized Israel’s rules of engagement” and said the majority of the
Palestinians killed “did not pose an immediate threat of death or serious
injury to others when they were shot.” In addition to those killed, the
report noted that “thousands of demonstrators” were also “maimed by Israeli
snipers during the weekly protests along the border fence between Israel
and the Gaza Strip.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=07f-083&t=c>
(2/28, Cumming-Bruce) reports the Israeli Foreign Ministry, in a statement,
“blamed Hamas...for the violence and dismissed the United Nations report”
as a product of bias, “written by three individuals that lack any
understanding in security matters.”
Domestic Policy
Cohen Testifies Behind Closed Doors Before House Intelligence Committee.

President Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen completed his third day of
testimony on Capitol Hill with a closed-door appearance before the House
Intelligence Committee that lasted nearly eight hours. NBC Nightly News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=080-1e6&t=c>
(2/28, story 4, 1:35, Holt) reported, “Cohen was back on Capitol Hill,
completing three days of testimony, this time behind closed doors. But what
he said in public yesterday drawing a strong reaction from President Trump
and new attention to prosecutors in New York.” NBC’s Kasie Hunt: “President
Trump slamming Democrats for that dramatic split-screen moment.” Trump: “I
think having a fake hearing like that and having it in the middle of this
very important summit is really a terrible thing.” Hunt: “Today,
Republicans blasting Cohen’s credibility, since he’s going to prison for
lying to Congress.” Jonathan Karl reported on ABC World News Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=081-be8&t=c>
(2/28, story 3, 1:20, Muir), “Cohen spent another eight hours on Capitol
Hill behind closed doors with the House Intelligence Committee today. He
will be back again next week.”

On the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030101biden&r=email-b47d&l=082-828&t=c>
(2/28, story 4, 1:50, Glor), Paula Reid reported, “Lawmakers and federal
prosecutors are still digesting his bombshell public testimony yesterday.
... Cohen implicated the President and those around him in several crimes,
including campaign finance violations and financial fraud.” Cohen: “Every
day, most of us were coming in, and we were going to lie for him on
something.” Reid: “Cohen also gave